​The right age to separate boys and girls

Question:

I would like to know the recommended age in which you should separate boys and girls so they don’t play together. I heard that the earliest you separate them the better. Is it preferable that my five year old daughter -who doesn’t know any other Salafi girl here- stays alone rather than mixing and learning with some nice Muslim boys that we know here? May Allah reward you with goodness.

Zaynab El-Kateb:

Shaikh Ibn Uthaymin replied to this question saying that a girl should not mingle with a boy who can distinguish (الصبي المميز).

Meaning that if a boy can understand about the looks of the girls or ladies, realize if they are pretty, and distinguishes their descriptions then it is not allowed for a girl to mingle with this boy.